Vernon Fairey Van Duyn

Branchville Lieutenant Colonel Vernon Fairey Van Duyn went to be with her Lord on January 2, 2013. Mrs. Vernon was a daughter of the late Murray Eugene Fairey and Eula Lee Dukes Fairey. She studied nursing at Columbia Hospital in Columbia, SC, from 1937 to 1940, and then passed the exam for her R.N. She enlisted as a U.S. Army Nurse at Fort Bragg, NC, in July of 1941. In April of 1943, she was assigned to the 56 th Station Hospital. Her unit shipped out of the Port of New York and zigzagging to avoid submarines, it arrived in Casablanca, North Africa, soon after the Battle of Kasserine Pass. Vernon's final discharge came on July 31, 1969, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (after 22 years of active duty and 6 years of reserve time). From January 1950 to 1952 (three years), she obtained a Bachelor of Science in Public Health Nursing at the University of North Carolina, in Chapel Hill, (as Military had requested all their Nurses should obtain a degree). From 1970 to 1973, Vernon was a part time student at the Columbia Bible College in Columbia, SC. From September 1973 to September 1974, she was a Medical Missionary for the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions at MWINGI (in the bush, 125 miles northeast of Nairobi, Kenya). The mission was comprised of a hospital, clinic, church, bible school and cottages. She returned home after one year, as her mother could no longer live alone. In 1978, Vernon married Ysbrand Van Duyn, a retired commercial flower grower, who was working on a Master's of Science in Biology at the University of South Carolina. He later retired from running a small environmental lab for Normandeau Associates in New Ellenton, SC. They moved to Echo Mountain, near Hendersonville, NC, for 8 years, and then to The Methodist Oaks in Orangeburg, SC. Vernon's nursing, college and military records, including her last uniform and medals, reside in the Sally Archives, on Middleton Street in Orangeburg, SC. She is survived by her husband of 35 years, Ysbrand Cornelis Van Duyn; sister, Frederica Fairey Reilley (Eugene H. Reilley, Jr.); nieces; Dr. Rosalyn Reilley (Dr. James Zakem), Marie Reilley Preser (Dr. Greg Presser); nephew, Eugene H. Reilley III; great nieces, Heather & Katie Reilley, Lauren Presser Williams (J. R. Williams), Diana Zakem, and great nephews, Charles Zakem and Jackson Presser. Funeral services will be conducted Sunday, January 6, 2013, at 10:00 A.M., at Branchville United Methodist Church, with Rev. Bill Burke officiating. Burial will be in Sardis Cemetery, in Branchville. Family will receive friends Saturday, from 6 to 8 P.M. at Ott Funeral Home, in Branchville, SC. Memorials can be made to the Branchville United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 87, Branchville SC 29432. Funeral services will be conducted Sunday, January 6, 2013, at 10:00 A.M., at Branchville United Methodist Church, with Rev. Bill Burke officiating. Burial will be in Sardis Cemetery, in Branchville. Family will receive friends Saturday, from 6 to 8 P.M. at Ott Funeral Home, in Branchville, SC.

Vernon Fairey Van Duyn

March 16, 1919 - January 2, 2013